Do your or your patient want to learn how to remember names better? Most adults I work with admit to some level of difficulty remembering names, and I’m no exception.
Free DIRECT download: 5 steps for remembering names (patient handout). (Email subscribers get free access to all the resources in the Free Subscription Library.)
Outline:
- Why remembering names is challenging.
- 5 easy steps to remember names.
- Share the handout with your patients and friends.
- Related Eat, Speak, & Think posts.
Why remembering names is challenging
Even for adults with normal memory skills, remembering names is often difficult. There are many reasons for this.
One reason is that we don’t pay close attention to what the other person is saying when we meet them. Many times, we’re distracted by other thoughts. If we don’t pay attention and notice the details in the first place, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to remember later.
Another reason is that it doesn’t seem important to remember at the time. Learning to match names and faces takes some effort. We automatically put in the effort to remember someone’s name when we’re motivated to remember it.
Other reasons include:
- Trying to remember too many details at once.
- Side-effect of medication.
- Lack of sleep.
- Stress or anxiety.
- Depression
- Drug abuse.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency.
In general, if memory lapses are causing problems in your daily life, be sure to report it to your doctor. But if you’re looking for easy steps to help you remember names, read on!
5 easy steps to remember names
Pay attention!
Attention is the foundation of memory. If we don’t pay attention to the details in the first place, we’re unlikely to remember them later.
We’re often so focused on our inner monologue that we don’t actually pay full attention when meeting someone new. It takes mental effort to connect a name to a face and store that in our memory. If we’re half-distracted thinking about something else, we’re much more likely to fail.
But many of us do have good intentions when meeting someone new. We make ourselves pay attention, but then find the name eludes us by the end of the conversation.
Unless you’ve already developed a good strategy for remembering names (and maybe you stumbled onto it early in your life so that it feels natural), you’ll have to do more than simply pay attention.
Say the name immediately
Repetition is an excellent way to help new information get into long-term memory. We’ve just heard a new name, and when we repeat it, now we’ve heard ourselves say it. And our brain has executed the motor plan for saying that name, while looking at the person we’ve just met. Our brain is forming and reinforcing connections between the person and the name, on multiple levels.
Also, it’s the polite thing to do. So we’re not only helping our memory, we’re also making a good impression.
If you’ve already developed the skill of remembering names, paying attention and repeating the name may be sufficient. But if you’re like me or the majority of adults I meet, you don’t remember all the names that you feel you should. The next step can be very helpful in improving your memory for names.
Connect the name and face to something familiar
If we can link someone’s name to their face (or person or personality) and then to something we already know, we’ll be far more likely to remember the name later.
These connections are formed through association and visualization.
How to make associations
Association is when we relate the new bit of information to something familiar.
- Do you know someone else who has their name? It could even be someone famous or a character.
- Does their name remind you of a place, object, animal, or activity?
- Perhaps their name reflects something about their personality, appearance, hobbies, or interests.
Use your imagination! Whatever association you make doesn’t have to be true. Try going with whatever comes to mind naturally.
Add visualization for an extra boost
Visualization is when we enhance an association with mental imagery. We use our imagination to create a mental picture, cartoon, or video. If we make it as vivid, funny, or unusual as possible, we’re more likely to remember it later.
A side note: People vary as to how “visual” their visualizations are. You may not actually “see” what you’re imagining. Simply getting a feeling or faint impression is enough.
Here are some ideas:
- Can you find the shape of the first letter of their name in their face, body, clothing, or accessories? If so, visualize that their name is hanging off of that “hook.”
- If you think of someone else with their name, imagine the two of them standing side-by-side, linking arms like good friends.
- Perhaps their name reminds you of a place, object, or animal? If so, imagine the person doing something ridiculous in that place or with that thing.
- If nothing comes to mind, simply visualize their name written on an imaginary name tag. That may be enough to help.
Use the name at the end of the conversation
Repetition is key! Not only is it polite, but saying their name again at the end of the conversation provides a nice reminder to our brain that we’d like to store the name in long-term memory.
If we’ve forgotten the name, ask the person to repeat it. Most people understand that names are difficult to remember, and people like it when others make the effort. Plus, chances are that the other person has forgotten our name as well.
Write the name down, with details
As soon as we can, we should write the name down, along with a few details to help us remember. We could jot it down on paper, make a note on our phone, or create a voice memo.
The simple act of writing it down could be sufficient for us to successfully remember the person’s name. But if not, we now have a written record (or a voice memo) to remind us. We could take a look at it from time to time, or before we go to a place where we’re likely to run into that person.
How I use writing to jog my memory
I use Evernote, and I have a document for people I meet at each place I regularly go, such as the climbing gym. When I’m done climbing but before I drive away, I enter the names of the new people I met, a brief description of the person, along with something of their interests.
I usually pull up the Evernote document before heading into the gym, to refresh my memory about the people I may run into. It decreases my nervousness about forgetting someone’s name I should know. And judging by the looks of surprise I sometimes see, I’ve impressed some people I’ve only met once by remembering their name.
Share the handout with your patients and friends
Trouble remembering names is such a common problem that you likely know someone who could benefit from these tips. Feel free to share the handout!
Related Eat, Speak, & Think posts
- 10 practical cognitive therapy activities.
- Treating cognition in the real world.
- Writing SMART memory goals for a reluctant patient.
Free DIRECT download: 5 steps for remembering names (patient handout). (Email subscribers get free access to all the resources in the Free Subscription Library.)
Featured image by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.
Lisa earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland, College Park and her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego.
She participated in research studies with the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the University of Maryland in the areas of aphasia, Parkinson’s Disease, epilepsy, and fluency disorders.
Lisa has been working as a medical speech-language pathologist since 2008. She has a strong passion for evidence-based assessment and therapy, having earned five ASHA Awards for Professional Participation in Continuing Education.
She launched EatSpeakThink.com in June 2018 to help other clinicians be more successful working in home health, as well as to provide strategies and resources to people living with problems eating, speaking, or thinking.
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